The Forsaken Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Brethren, I come to you with my review of Kings Island's annual Halloween tradition...Halloween Haunt. Please keep in mind, I am an avid haunt "goer" and have been working within the haunt industry for 13 years with several theme parks and attractions all over the world. Saying that, I am going to hold nothing back in my review and I hope someone from KI reads this and becomes...inspired. Here we go... I began the night as I do with any night of haunting...I kiss my wife and prepare for a great time. We bough our Fright Passes which is ALWAYS a wise investment if you're like me and HATE waiting in lines. With the Fright Pass we were able to experience the entirety of HH in two hours. Awesome. Looking back, if I had to sum up the 2015 season of KI's Halloween Haunt it would be this...shameful. In the many years of visiting haunt (since the VERY beginning) I am ashamed FOR the KI Entertainment & Park Services Dept. So, let's dive into what exactly is great and terrible with HH. The following is listed in order of visit: Wolfpack- KI, please retire this haunt and tear the SoB station. Credit to the haunt actors in this maze because they are trying their absolute best to "make do" with a mediocre haunt. Yeah, some cool props and ONE good scene is present...but the lack luster design and short maze length make this attraction one of the worst I've ever visited. 3/10 Blackout- The shining star of Halloween Haunt is, in fact, totally dark. Obviously I could rip this haunt a new one for being "lazy" in its design...essentially Club Blood with not/minor changes and the lights off. I give this haunt an "A" for effort, but the throughput is a disaster, the actor are lazy and don't even go out of their way to "scare" you; which by the way...feather ticklers are NOT scary. The best part of this haunt was the hallway with white/blacklight faces. This haunt has MASSIVE potential but I think KI jumped on the "blackout bandwagon" given the success of similar attractions at other theme parks. Tried...failed. Stating this, I can see how this can become a truly terrifying haunt. 7/10 Delta Delta Die- Classic haunt from a "well known" haunt designer that's as tired as this attraction is. This haunt has seen countless new themes and names and passed off as "new" each time....does KI think it's guest are truly that dumb? The actors of the haunt are some of the best at HH. They are totally invested into the theme of the haunt and even go out of their way to create interesting dialogue to make the experience better. Overall...good length, tired design, great actors... 6/10 Board to Death- This take at board games is truly inspiring in it's design, theming, and details. I personally loved the "Mouse Trap" area of the haunt. The actors do a great job and are very "frightening" at times. This is one of the few surprise "hits" of HH. However, I do miss the intensity of the chainlink mazes in this building...I think customers do to. 7/10 Kill Mart- Something about zombies just seems "dull" nowadays....maybe it's just me though. This haunt however has a great design, leaving behind the traditional "wall panel" system for a more "open" plan; this is clever. I also enjoyed the detailing with the clothing racks, rotted food, greenery/pet area, outdoor area, checkout lanes, etc. etc. etc. The actor were lame and need some work...seemed "bored" of the haunt. Overall, it's an "OK" haunt. Love the facade. 5/10 Urgent Scare- Another haunt that has become stale in its tenure at KI. In the beginning, this haunt was amazing. Now, it's become a shadow of its once frightening self. The location is terrible and "out of the way", the sets are showing age, and the actors come off and "trying to hard". KI, it's time for this one to go. 5/10 Cavern of Terror- This has always been one of my favorites. This haunt features great design, great scenes and props, good costuming, and more. The actors also do a great job of playing to their role and being believable...kudos. I'd still love to see this one developed more with added theming and sound design. 8/10 Slaughterhouse- Oh, blood and gore...where could it go wrong? Well, turns out it can. So, here's one for the makeup crew...and let me be very clear...blood paste is NOT an acceptable substitute to quality makeup. There's no reason to take an actor, COVER them in nothing but blood, and call it done. I love the new location, love the design and theming...utterly hate the soundtrack, lighting, and makeup. Also, the actor need MORE training on how to be scary and disturbing. I give this one a 7/10. Tombstone Terrortory- So, the best part of this attraction doesn't happen anymore...the train ride. The line for this attraction, especially for Fright Pass, is a clusterf**k of craziness that's scarier than the attraction. The walk back to the park is boring, uneventful, and down right embarassing. This attraction is almost unchanged from previous years but seems to be missing many details and scenic treatments. The actors, except for a couple, do a terrible job trying to scare you. But I can't blame them...you can't turn a turd into a diamond, it's impossible. KI, here's another one to retire. 3/10 CarnEVIL- This is a great old haunt from Halloween Productions that has seen many new treatments from the park...and it all works. Great design, great sets, awesome 3D effects if you have the glasses....and the actors do an OK job. I mean, it's REALLY hard to be scary in such a bright haunt. What I'd like to see from this haunt in the future is a complete retheme/repaint and lose the 3D colors. Turn this into a real world, dark and gritty circus. Something more like AHS Freakshow. 7/10 Cornstalkers- This is the one that did me in. It. Is. Just. So. Bad. Don't get me wrong, corn mazes and theming are really scary...this one is just to "open" and doesn't have enough actual theming, sounds, lighting, or scares. The actors were "tired" and seemed to not care at all about the guest experience. I present to you the worst haunt at KI....2/10 I don't rate the scarezones because they are always pretty good at KI. Not the best as they seem very small and underthemed....but they're OK. Overall, I give KI's Halloween Haunt a rating of 5/10. I've never seen an event give off such a sense of "no care" than I have at Haunt. I don't know if its the event being under-funded, under-motivated, or under-experienced and poorly put together. None the less, as someone who has had the great privilege of assisting the LARGEST Halloween event in the world I'm sad to see such a horrible showing at what I consider my home park to be. Will this ever stop me from visiting Haunt...hell no. But it does make me sad to see the condition of what was once a great event. Oh how the great have fallen. I always have fun at Haunt with my wife and friends and I'll always recommend it to others. But, and it literally pains me to say this, this may be the LAST time I suggest KI's haunt to anybody. I just cannot in good faith recommend future haunts to people if some changes aren't made. If only the event reflected the marketing for it. Sigh. What do you guys think? Like everything in lie, these things are subjective. I obviously have a much different "perspective" than most people. I know this. But I have to be honest in my reviews in hopes that someone see's it and can help make the event better. Here's to next year... -The Forsaken 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Saying that, I am going to hold nothing back in my review and I hope someone from KI reads this and becomes...inspired. The moment I read that, I knew this review was going to be something...special. I think the issue with motivation is twofold. One is the obvious fact that it's an event at a world-class amusement park that sees crowds of over 30,000 roughly every Saturday. People will essentially come through those gates no matter what, so their (proposed) thinking is that they don't have to change a single thing about or fix whatever it is that may be broken with the event, because they assume guests won't care and still pay to get in (see this year's issue with the food experience). Also, roller coasters. They even said it in one of the news stories about how one of the main components of the tagline "Whatever You Fear Is Here" is the bevy of roller coasters KI has, as if it's another excuse to not deliver new, innovative maze experiences because they just built the world's longest inverted coaster. On a side note, I doubt there is an issue with funding if they can put $60,000 worth of animatronics and props into a single maze. Maybe it's more mishandling than anything. But the other issue is competition. To be more specific, competition with events of the same caliber as KI's Haunt. Competition breeds innovation. This is why Knott's Scary Farm has upped their game in the quality of their mazes now that Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights (Hollywood) is becoming increasingly more popular. The next closest theme park haunts not owned by a Cedar Fair property are Busch Gardens' Howl-O-Scream in Williamsburg (who is in direct competition with Kings Dominon's Haunt), and Six Flags Fright Fest at NJFTP, D.C., and Chicago. There is no direct competition theme park-wise with Kings Island for them to suddenly scramble together and churn out a better product. Middletown's Land of Illusion is probably the closest professional haunt to compete with its multiple mazes in a park environment, but they don't have roller coasters. - RingMaster, cynical Haunt-goer 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Forsaken Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 I completely agree with everything you bring up. On one hand, I can understand some of the thought processes behind the decision making for Haunt. However, it's also shameful that they think they can just vomit out the same old tired attractions year-after-year and think people won't notice...or won't care. I also understand the battle between Entertainment and Park Operations. I'm sure Kevin (Entertainment Director) is doing his absolute best to work Haunt while dealing with some insane request from Operations. The park obviously wants one thing...more people per hour. This does nothing for the quality of the shows. It's also a point to bring up that -I believe- the Cedar Fair parks are now the ONLY parks that do not charge a separate admission fee for their Halloween events. I know this is ALWAYS a hot topic point for a lot of people, but HH could be SO MUCH better if a $20 haunt admission was introduced with special wristbands/passes. There is no argument that can go against this fact. The best example is Halloween Horror Nights, charging an average of $80 JUST for the after-hours event...and yet they are the biggest haunted event in the world. Again, this all stems from the fact that KI is my "home" park and I, as somebody very passionate about this industry, can't stand how Halloween Haunt is operated and planned. -TF 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HHauntFanatic Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said Forsaken! I remember going to Fearfest the first year it started and was amazed at the creativity, ingenuity, and effort put in to it. I mean, a maze at the top of the Eiffel Tower?? Genius! Now, it's just a shell of it's former self and it's a shame. However, I will give them credit for how they dress up the park for Haunt. I still think they do a pretty good job at it. In fact, I could just walk around the park looking at the props and sets and be happy. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalefan Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I completely agree with everything you bring up. On one hand, I can understand some of the thought processes behind the decision making for Haunt. However, it's also shameful that they think they can just vomit out the same old tired attractions year-after-year and think people won't notice...or won't care. I also understand the battle between Entertainment and Park Operations. I'm sure Kevin (Entertainment Director) is doing his absolute best to work Haunt while dealing with some insane request from Operations. The park obviously wants one thing...more people per hour. This does nothing for the quality of the shows. It's also a point to bring up that -I believe- the Cedar Fair parks are now the ONLY parks that do not charge a separate admission fee for their Halloween events. I know this is ALWAYS a hot topic point for a lot of people, but HH could be SO MUCH better if a $20 haunt admission was introduced with special wristbands/passes. There is no argument that can go against this fact. The best example is Halloween Horror Nights, charging an average of $80 JUST for the after-hours event...and yet they are the biggest haunted event in the world. Again, this all stems from the fact that KI is my "home" park and I, as somebody very passionate about this industry, can't stand how Halloween Haunt is operated and planned. -TF The extra charge will not work as the park has close to 50,000 or more people in it before Haunt even starts on Saturday. People are already saying that Cedar Fair is charging extra for everything now, and your saying that they should charge more just to get in for an event? If you think that you can make Haunt better, then apply for a job with one of the parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Forsaken Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 Explain this to Universal Orlando...who closes their park to MORE people and has them come back in. Technically, you can in fact stay in the park but only in sectioned off ares until Halloween Horror Nights begins. ....and don't be snide in your comment. I am a haunt consultant...if KI wanted me, believe me, they know where to find me. I've worked with many theme parks around the world (in recent years mostly in China and Europe) with their Halloween events and I'd be happy to assist KI on their event. But, I don't have the time to -as you put it- apply for a job there. I can make more money assisting other parks, maybe KI's competition, than I would having a full-time job at the park. Just sayin'... -TF 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailRider Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Torture Tower is still the best maze KI has ever done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalefan Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Explain this to Universal Orlando...who closes their park to MORE people and has them come back in. Technically, you can in fact stay in the park but only in sectioned off ares until Halloween Horror Nights begins. ....and don't be snide in your comment. I am a haunt consultant...if KI wanted me, believe me, they know where to find me. I've worked with many theme parks around the world (in recent years mostly in China and Europe) with their Halloween events and I'd be happy to assist KI on their event. But, I don't have the time to -as you put it- apply for a job there. I can make more money assisting other parks, maybe KI's competition, than I would having a full-time job at the park. Just sayin'... -TF The parks in Florida also charge alot of money just to get in for a daily ticket. 80.00 for an event on top of what they charge just to get in is a bit much don't you think? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Explain this to Universal Orlando...who closes their park to MORE people and has them come back in. Technically, you can in fact stay in the park but only in sectioned off ares until Halloween Horror Nights begins. ....and don't be snide in your comment. I am a haunt consultant...if KI wanted me, believe me, they know where to find me. I've worked with many theme parks around the world (in recent years mostly in China and Europe) with their Halloween events and I'd be happy to assist KI on their event. But, I don't have the time to -as you put it- apply for a job there. I can make more money assisting other parks, maybe KI's competition, than I would having a full-time job at the park. Just sayin'... -TF The parks in Florida also charge alot of money just to get in for a daily ticket. 80.00 for an event on top of what they charge just to get in is a bit much don't you think? With how they handle their event and their ever-changing lineup of mazes and scare zones each year? No. Plus, they have multiple options available for guests to come on multiple nights within a set span of nights for less than the price of a ticket, which makes sense because there's a rare chance you'll be able to get through all nine of the houses in one night with the lines they have. But let's compare the perceived value of both events, shall we? Starting with the average ticket price, with no Fright Lanes, Express Passes, or Meal Deals: Haunt at Kings Island = ~$60 (Saturday ticket) Halloween Horror Nights = ~$100 (any night) Divide the ticket price up by the number of mazes each event has, and we get: 11 mazes at Haunt = ~$5/maze 9 mazes at HHN = ~$11/maze If we add in the other elements of the events, which are the scare zones and live entertainment (roller coasters and thrill rides are excluded), we get: 18 Haunt attractions = ~$3/element 16 HHN attractions = $6.25/element Yes, we are talking about two vastly different styles of thrill park (year-round theme park vs. April-October amusement park) in two vastly different markets (Orlando vs. Cincinnati), but, honestly speaking, you get what you paid for. Once again, I don't own a season pass to the Island, so I'm paying a regular ticket to get in. Which means I have a much different outlook on the event than someone with a Platinum Pass who can just waltz in multiple nights. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdude86 Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 I agree with the quality statements a bit. Haunt is till a lot of fun and I love it but some of the mazes are lacking severely or getting very dated and tired. And renaming a maze with a very minimal theme change does not make it new (e.g. Massacre Manor to DDD or the many chainlink fence mazes where BTD now stands). A big part to me comes down a bit to layouts for some, like Tombstone Terror-tory hard to be scary in a straight line with obvious hiding spots, and number of actors, Cornstalkers has always been woefully understaffed when I've gone through. I do like that we get so many mazes to experience and helps to spread the crowds out some but I'd almost rather them cut down the number of mazes and make them better staffed and themed. Can pool decorations together and have funds dispersed better plus more scare actors per maze. One examble would be taking three of their weakest mazes, Tombstone Terror-tory, Wolf Pack, and Cornstalkers, and combining them into one big haunt. Could start in a farm house that has been attacked and then venture out into the cornfields. I feel the props and costumes for these three could work together into a cohesive haunt with the Western garb able to be refitted as lost souls on the farm and having werewolves and scarecrows attacking. I also like Forsaken's idea of making Carn-evil into a dark/gritty circus theme that is scarier than a bright 3D haunt. It's decent as is but coudl be really creepy if made more realistic. I think if we just had like 8 or 9 mazes the quality could be improved. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Tombstone in its current state feels more like a scare zone akin to Backwoods Bayou or Nightmare Alley, but one you have to wait in line for and it's one-way only (like CornStalkers' previous location in Action Zone on the Timberwolf path). And the biggest thing with scare zones is a lack of hiding places and an increased emphasis on guest interaction and improv. Take the Terror-tory out of White Water Canyon and put it in Rivertown as a scare zone and it would (theoretically) work a lot better than it does now. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upstop Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Haunt was a haunt event that turned into a night at the amusement park event... it totally strayed away from theme in many ways. I go to HHN every few years because it is vastly different from HH, and waaaay more entertaining. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdude86 Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 RingMaster, I agree with you about moving Tombstone Terror-tory into a scare zone through Rivertown. That would be a much better use for it, and could leave the train open as well then for a relaxing evening ride. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upstop Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I agree! They could have a train ride / ghost story past glowing pumpkin patches, ghostly corn fields with hooting owls and scarecrows, through haunted woods and through a haunted town with projected images, all accompanied by a ghostly story broadcast over the train speakers. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdude86 Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Exactly, think it'd be pretty easy to pull off, dones't have to be anything major, just some good ghost story narration ro something with some simple decorations would be good enough 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upstop Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Heck they could retell the legend of "Sleepy Hallow" complete with a headless horseman. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadioRiders Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Corporate makes all decisions, not the actors Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfanatic83 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 The only issue with moving a scare zone into Rivertown is that it effectively blocks off a section of the park for people who don't want to participate in the haunts. If you think about it, you will notice that all of the scare zones are on low-traffic pathways that can be easily avoided without hurting the flow of the park. Putting one of these in Rivertown will create a dead end for those who do not want to participate. In order to get to The Beast from the entrance of the park, one would have to go through Coney Mall to avoid any scare zones. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Technically, they already have to go through Coney to get to The Beast because of Backwoods Bayou, but Cemetery Drive negates this as it takes up almost the entirety of International Street. Not to mention Nightmare Alley is on the most direct path to Banshee and Action Zone from the park entrance, and we still have roaming monsters in Coney and Rivertown to begin with. That being said, a "solution" to the Rivertown scare zone idea would be to have the Terror-tory take up residence between Reds Room o' Remembrance and the train station, leaving the major pathway (Arcade to Train) uncluttered of zoned scaring. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TromaKing Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I am one of the scare actors from Slaughter House. Honestly I appreciate this post. If all post are about how great we do we can never get better. I would like to hear some ideas on how you feel we can improve what we do. I know I try my best to give every group that I see an experience that I hope they will remember. As far as the makeup goes, Slaughter House is the blood and gore maze. It will not be everyone's cup of tea and I understand that. How would you suggest a change, keeping in mind that it is the blood and gore maze of the park? I will not lie, this is not my best year personally. Now after reading this I will make an effort to make a better experience for the guest. I truly believe that if the guest is not enjoying what we do, we are not doing it right. Without guest we have no one to scare. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magenta Lizard Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 If you are who I believe you are (Stan, right?) you're awesome! You made a big impression last year when I just saw you interacting with people in line before they entered, even though it was briefly. This year, I was lucky enough to get to do the Skeleton Key room, and you made that very fun! Every actor at Slaughterhouse that I've had any real interaction with has been excellent. I love Mama! Of course, Sam is great in or out of character. Even the ones I haven't so much talked to manage to be the creepiest in the park. Is it wrong that a trip through Slaughterhouse makes me hungry? I may be disturbed. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HHauntFanatic Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I am one of the scare actors from Slaughter House. Honestly I appreciate this post. If all post are about how great we do we can never get better. I would like to hear some ideas on how you feel we can improve what we do. I know I try my best to give every group that I see an experience that I hope they will remember. As far as the makeup goes, Slaughter House is the blood and gore maze. It will not be everyone's cup of tea and I understand that. How would you suggest a change, keeping in mind that it is the blood and gore maze of the park? I will not lie, this is not my best year personally. Now after reading this I will make an effort to make a better experience for the guest. I truly believe that if the guest is not enjoying what we do, we are not doing it right. Without guest we have no one to scare. You work with the tools you're given, you know? If a maze is poorly designed, lacks attention to detail, creativity and everything else, there's only so much an actor can do. My beef isn't with the actors' themselves but the product as a whole. When I watch walk through videos of Knott's Scary Farms mazes, the differences between them and Kings Island's mazes are almost embarrassing. Is it a fair comparison? I don't know. Knott's is in Southern California, so for all I know, they may have true professional actors and designers working for them. Who knows? What I do know is that they could do a much better job of improving the product as a whole, which in turn, can only help the actors. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 The actors are really what make the maze. I've said for years that Death Row had one of the blandest layouts and designs for a maze, but the best crew of actors ever. It really all comes down to a sense of balance, with the scale leaning more towards the quality of the actors. You can unload $100,000 worth of props, set pieces, and special effects into a single room and have it look sensational, but if the talent just isn't into it or is nonexistent, that room (and potentially the whole maze) will suffer. This is why the Roamers, Creepers, and Scare Zoners have the toughest job of Haunt. There is no 10x10 room to work in or drop-window box to pop out of; you have an entire area of an amusement park to patrol and entertain customers. They are in sight of all customers at all times, and they have to be on fire at all times. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TromaKing Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 If you are who I believe you are (Stan, right?) you're awesome! You made a big impression last year when I just saw you interacting with people in line before they entered, even though it was briefly. This year, I was lucky enough to get to do the Skeleton Key room, and you made that very fun! Every actor at Slaughterhouse that I've had any real interaction with has been excellent. I love Mama! Of course, Sam is great in or out of character. Even the ones I haven't so much talked to manage to be the creepiest in the park. Is it wrong that a trip through Slaughterhouse makes me hungry? I may be disturbed. If you are who I believe you are (Stan, right?) you're awesome! You made a big impression last year when I just saw you interacting with people in line before they entered, even though it was briefly. This year, I was lucky enough to get to do the Skeleton Key room, and you made that very fun! Every actor at Slaughterhouse that I've had any real interaction with has been excellent. I love Mama! Of course, Sam is great in or out of character. Even the ones I haven't so much talked to manage to be the creepiest in the park. Is it wrong that a trip through Slaughterhouse makes me hungry? I may be disturbed. You are correct in who I am. No there is nothing wrong with being hungry. The actors are really what make the maze. I've said for years that Death Row had one of the blandest layouts and designs for a maze, but the best crew of actors ever. It really all comes down to a sense of balance, with the scale leaning more towards the quality of the actors. You can unload $100,000 worth of props, set pieces, and special effects into a single room and have it look sensational, but if the talent just isn't into it or is nonexistent, that room (and potentially the whole maze) will suffer. This is why the Roamers, Creepers, and Scare Zoners have the toughest job of Haunt. There is no 10x10 room to work in or drop-window box to pop out of; you have an entire area of an amusement park to patrol and entertain customers. They are in sight of all customers at all times, and they have to be on fire at all times. I loved the year I was the overlord. For me that was a lot easier then being confined in a room. Being able to change locations, change up approaches. For me it was easier and I do really miss doing it. However May see me out a bit more this weekend. I'm not saying anything.... I'm just sayin. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XGatorHead 8904 Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I loved the year I was the overlord. For me that was a lot easier then being confined in a room. Being able to change locations, change up approaches. For me it was easier and I do really miss doing it. However May see me out a bit more this weekend. I'm not saying anything.... I'm just sayin. ...and because of this, you may see Sam in a different location this weekend. I'm not saying anything.... I'm just sayin. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Forsaken Posted October 17, 2015 Author Share Posted October 17, 2015 TromaKing, Thank you for extreme honesty and openness for an opinion. I know sometimes 'context' is almost impossible to read through on an online forum...but you got it 100%. I am fully aware that my visit to Haunt was EARLY in the season and that some of the actors may still be learning their craft. As it was my one and only visit to Haunt, I could have only expected the best. I surely hope people from KI are reading this and taking notes on things that need fixing. Actor training for haunts is one of those things that can easily be messed up. If the proper time and training is given, by the right instructor, it can totally makeover a haunt. The actors themselves are the ONLY saving grace of KI's Haunt. Most of my critiques were in the design, operations, and detailing of the shows. I'm completely confident that by now the actors have "set in" their characters are have figured out what works. Have a great season...scare the hell out of people! =) As per the makeup...I understand the role this attraction plays within the scope of the event. However, to be truly gory and disturbing, less is more. What I would do is design specific "looks" for each character that involves properly distressed and stained costumes, dirt/grime makeups, conservative blood splatters and realistic "spattering", and maybe more "wearable faces and animals heads". I'd also fabricate a troupe of "butcher masks" that had gore on them...like, the extreme of the extreme guys that slaughtered for fun and pleasure! Just some thoughts... -T.F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.